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A new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, locates hotspots of threats to wildlife and describes how they are related to consumers' demand in other parts of the world. Identifying hotspots of species threat has been a successful approach for setting conservation priorities. One important challenge in conservation is that, in many hotspots, export industries continue to drive overexploitation. Conservation measures must consider not just the point of impact, but also the consumer demand that ultimately drives resource use. To understand which species threat hotspots are driven by which consumers, we have developed a new approach to link a set of biodiversity footprint accounts to the hotspots of threatened species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The result is a map connecting consumption to spatially explicit hotspots driven by production on a global scale. Locating biodiversity threat hotspots driven by consumption of goods and services can he...

This paper provides an analytical framework for assessing the impact of international trade in wildlife and wildlife products on conservation and local livelihoods. It also explores the role of factors related to particular species and their habitat, governance settings, the supply-chain structure, and the nature of the end market. The framework is relevant for importers and exporters, regulators, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, community representatives and researchers seeking to improve the sustainability of international wildlife supply chains.

Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam declared every district of the state drought-hit owing to the failure of the northeast monsoon in 2016 and reports of farmers’ deaths. About 144 farmers have reportedly died in the state in the past three months due to crop failure. The chief minister assured a relief assistance of Rs 300,000 to each of the bereaved families. "Reports have been sought from the district collectors on the deaths reported in media. Upon getting the reports, the assistance will be extended to those families as well," he said. Land tax will also be waived off. His decision comes after the reports are submitted by high-level teams comprising ministers and senior bureaucrats in all districts, barring Chennai. Tamil Nadu government will shortly request the Centre for relief assistance and a petition will be sent to the Centre at the earliest, Panneerselvam said in a statement. According to the data by Regional Meteorological Centre, most districts in...